A Week Without Coffee and Luke
by CSIMel
Summary: As the result of a bet with Luke, Lorelai goes without coffee for a week, resulting in her 'relatively' normal life transforming into a one of fullblown, coffee deprived insanity.
1. Monday: A Betting Sort of Day

**A WEEK WITHOUT COFFEE AND LUKE**

**DISCLAIMER: All Amy, not me.**

**TIME FRAME: After Max, before Yale. **

**A/N: This is my first fic that isn't based on a crime show so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself right now. I just bought season 1 and 2 and I've become re-obsessed with it. I don't know whether it will be a LL fic, but I'm not crossing it out ;). Enjoy!

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**MONDAY: A Betting Sort of Day**

Lorelai Gilmore strode determinedly down the snow-covered streets of Stars Hollow. Barely pausing to greet her fellow townspeople, Lorelai was clearly a woman on a mission. An all-important, life dependent mission.

A mission for coffee.

And absolutely nothing was going to between her and her coffee.

Lorelai opened the door to Luke's, a sense of calm and easy familiarity washing over her. The smell of coffee hit her immediately as she took a seat at the counter.

"Morning Luke,"

The unshaven face of Luke Danes, coffee pot in hand turned to face the owner of the voice. Lorelai gave a big grin and Luke nodded in response.

"The usual, I presume?" he asked, not needing to write down her order.

"Does Hugh Jackman look hot as Wolverine?" Lorelai quipped in response.

"I'm going to go ahead and take that as a yes," Luke muttered, placing a mug in from of Lorelai.

"Luke, have I ever told you how much I love your coffee?" Lorelai asked, taking a sip.

"About a gazillion times," Luke answered.

"I love it so much I want to write a song about it. I love it so much I want to put it above out fireplace and make a little coffee shrine. I love it so much that when I form 'Lorelai Land', and believe me, I will, I'm going to put a picture of it on my flag and make it my national symbol. I love it…"

"Morning Mum," Rory interrupted her mother with a kiss.

"Morning sweetie," Lorelai answered, "did you enjoy your sleep in?"

"Hmm mm," Rory replied, taking a sip of her coffee, "so what did I miss?"

"Your mother's coffee rant," Luke responded, placing two plates of pancakes in front of them.

"Is this the 'how much she loves coffee', or the 'what she'd do for a cup of coffee' rant?" Rory questioned.

"The 'how much I love coffee' one," Lorelai answered, "and you cut me off halfway through!"

"Thank God," Luke muttered aloud, "and by the way Rory, make sure your mother takes her crazy pills before she leaves the house. She's a menace to society."

"Aww, you really know how to make a girl feel special, Luke," Lorelai gushed.

"She's like one of those annoying bobble-head dog things," Luke argued.

"Hey now, those things are way cool," Rory spoke up.

"Yeah!" Lorelai joined in.

"I've got other customers to serve, I'm going now," Luke said, walking away.

"I gotta run too," Rory stood up, "school."

"Aww, can't we skip today? You know, go to New York get tattoos and hang out at a biker bar or something?" Lorelai pleaded.

"Maybe next week, I have a French test today," Rory said "I'll see you later."

"Bye darl," Lorelai took a big sip of her coffee and poked her pancakes with her fork. Looking around the room, it was then she noticed a suitcase sitting by the door leading to the upstairs office.

"Hey Luke,"

Luke appeared behind the counter.

"You yelled,"

"What's with the suitcase?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm going away this week, to New York," he answered.

"Since when?" Lorelai demanded. "This is the first I've heard of it!"

"What! I must have told you at least fifty times!" Luke sighed. "And I had a sign on the door for the last two weeks!"

"Luke, you know I come here for the food, not the decoration," Lorelai grinned cheekily.

Luke gave an exasperated sigh.

"What am I going to do, Lukey?" Lorelai whined, "I can't go for a week without your coffee!"

"You can't go for a week without anyone's coffee," Luke grumbled, " and don't call me 'Lukey'."

"Luke, I'm hurt," Lorelai gasped, placing a hand to her chest, "I could so go a week without coffee!"

"Prove it," Luke answered, staring her straight in the eye.

"Huh?"

"I bet you $50 that you can't go without coffee for a week," Luke said.

There was a pause.

"See, you can't," Luke smirked.

"You have yourself a bet, Mister," Lorelai spoke up, holding out her hand.

They shook hands.

"This is going to be the easiest $50 I ever made," Luke smirked, walking over to some customers.

Lorelai glanced down at her cup.

"Hey Luke," she called out, "when does the bet start?"

Luke turned around.

"Now."

Lorelai left some money on the counter and walked out of the diner. Once outside, she rummaged around her bag for her cell phone. Lorelai dialled the numbers she knew off by heart.

_Hey Mary? It's Rhoda. Listen, I think I just make the biggest mistake of my life…_

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**A/N: So, what'd ya think? If you review, I'll be your best friend!**

**Click click bottom left. You know you want to!**


	2. Tuesday: Desperate Times

**TUESDAY: Desperate Times**

**A/N: Okay, so I'm sorry about my lack of updating, but I've formulated some excuses that you can choose from.**

**I've been really, really busy with school/work/uni/everything that I haven't had time to do anything fun**

**I was trialing the story to see whether people would take interest. But to those 10 who reviewed, your opinions count and therefore I will update.**

**My computer broke.**

**My dog ate it. (An oldie, but a goodie).**

**So take it or leave it folks. If I were you though, I'd take it. It's free after all!

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"Come on, Mom, get up!"

Lorelai slowly opened her eyes, squinting to see past the harsh sunlight that filled her room. A few seconds later she could make out the face of her daughter. Lorelai moaned.

"Unless it's Colin Firth, I'm not interested," Lorelai grumbled, pulling the covers over her face.

"Mom!" Rory cried, yanking the blankets off the bed.

"I thought I told you not to wake me unless there was a fire or a shoe sale," Lorelai whined, covering her head with a pillow.

"Well, there's both, now get up!" Rory tugged the pillow out of her hands.

"I have no reason to get up," Lorelai said unhappily.

"You have work," Rory stated, grabbing her mother some clothes from the wardrobe.

"I can't work without coffee," Lorelai whined, "It's like my security blanket!"

"Well, it's time to grow up, Linus," Rory ordered, "You're an adult, you have to go to work. Out lives depend on it."

"I hate you Lucy," Lorelai crossed her arms and walked slowly towards the bathroom.

"Thatta girl!" Rory slapped her mother on the back and followed her out the door. "Have a good day and remember: no coffee!"

Lorelai made a face.

"Shut up!"

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Lorelai slumped over the reception desk at the Independence Inn.

"Good morning, Lorelai," Michel greeted her in his usual manner, "Are you 'aving a 'orrible day also?"

"The worst, Michel," Lorelai lifted her head from the counter, "I am such an idiot!"

"Tell Michel all about it," Michel replied in a falsely sympathetic tone.

"I made this stupid bet with Luke," Lorelai explained, "that I could go a week without coffee – "

Lorelai was interrupted by the hysterical laughter of Michel.

"Oh, sorry," Michel apologized, wiping tears from his eyes, "please, go on."

"As I was saying," Lorelai glared at Michel "I made a bet with Luke that I could go without coffee for a week, some sort of pride thing. And now I can't do anything! I mean, screw pride! I need some coffee!"

Again, Lorelai was met with the laughter of Michel.

"Oh, Lorelai, I am so sorry," Michel laughed "but you 'ave made my day so much better. Thank you so much."

"You better watch out Michel," Lorelai warned, "or one day I might break into your house and destroy your Italian loafers!"

Lorelai stormed from the reception desk and into the kitchen, in search for a more sympathetic ear.

"Sookie!" Lorelai called out, "Sookie, I need a hug!"

Sookie appeared from behind a fridge door.

"Aw, Hon," Sookie gave her friend a hug "how about some coffee? I just made a…." Sookie stopped mid-sentence, horrified with herself. "I'm sorry."

Lorelai forced a smile.

"It's alright," she said "but I'll have a cup anyway."

"Honey, you can't!" Sookie gasped.

"Not to drink," Lorelai reassured her friend "just to smell."

"You can't do that!" Sookie protested, "first it'll be a smell, then a sip, then a gulp and before you know it, you would've drunk the whole pot!"

Lorelai sighed sadly.

"Why don't you call Luke?" Sookie suggested, "Maybe it's not too late to cancel."

"I guess it's worth a shot," Lorelai shrugged and grabbed the phone off the wall.

_Hello?_

"It's Luke," Lorelai whispered to Sookie.

_Hello?_

"Uh, hi, Luke, it's Lorelai," Lorelai stammered "Uh, Lorelai Gilmore."

_Like I know any other 'Lorelai's'._

"Uh, yeah, right." Lorelai gave a nervous laugh.

_What do you want?_

"It's, um, it's about the bet…" Lorelai said uncertainly.

_You wanna call it off? Yeah, I figured as much. To be honest, I'm surprised you made it this long. Don't worry; I won't even make you pay me._

Lorelai glared at the phone. _That cocky son of a…_

"I was just wondering whether you wanted to up the stakes say…$100?" Lorelai said coolly.

_Sure, I guess I could do with an extra $50._

"Well, you're on," Lorelai snapped "Bye."

Lorelai quickly hung up the phone.

"I am such an idiot!" she cried.

"Sweetie, what possessed you to raise the stakes?" Sookie asked.

"I don't know," Lorelai replied meekly "I guess it was the smugness in his voice. Then I was imagining his smug expression and the smug way he was wearing his smug baseball cap and…"

"Woah, there Nelly," Sookie held up her hands, "that's too much smugness for me!"

There was a pause.

"Why don't you try to go about this differently?" Sookie suggested, "Use positive thinking?"

"Positive thinking," Lorelai wondered aloud, "I like it!"

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**_A/N: _Hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't, I'm sure you can get your money back. I know I will be.**

**Please review. Reviews create endorphins. Endorphins make people happy. Being happy makes me study hard. Studying make me pass. Passing makes me have to work less. Working less allows me to update more. Updating more means you get more aWWC&L.**

**Message of this story: Review! (Please)**


	3. Wednesday: It's a Beautiful Day

**WEDNESDAY: It's a Beautiful Day**

**A/N: Here's the third chapter of aWWC&L. Sorry about the lack of updating, I've been pretty stressed with exams. But I'm on winter break (woohoo) and I've got plenty of time to update and I will get this story finished. I hope XD

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_It's a beautiful day…_

Rory sat up quickly in her bed, awoken suddenly. She glanced at her alarm clock.

6:05 am.

"Mommy!" she cried loudly, stumbling out of bed. "Mommy!" She trudged into the kitchen and gasped with horror.

"This is either some sort of nightmare, or Martha Stewart has taken over your body," Rory gasped, poking at a dirty pan in the sink. "Or it could be like in that episode of South Park we watched where a doorway opened to an alternate universe and Cartman was nice…what I'm trying to say, at six in the morning, is who are you and what have you done with my mother!"

Lorelai grabbed her daughter by the shoulders.

"Relax, sweetie, it's just breakfast," Lorelai reassured her daughter, "nothing else."

"Then why is the living room clean?" Rory demanded "And where did these groceries come from?"

"Calm down, Nancy Drew," Lorelai said "Getting rid of the caffeine from my system has given me some extra 'pep'. That and a nervous twitch, but that's going cold turkey for you. And I brought groceries last night."

"You mean, you 'planned' this?" Rory questioned.

"Yessiree!" Lorelai said enthusiastically.

"So, Rory said slowly, rubbing her forehead, "you're telling me you actually got up early, on purpose?"

"Uh huh," Lorelai nodded "again, coffee and withdrawal symptoms."

"Are you crazy?" Rory exploded, "And while I'm on that topic-" She reached over the counter and turned off the CD player, "while I love U2 as much as the next person, why the sudden urge to play it at 6 am?"

"Okay," Lorelai leaned against the seat, "Firstly, yes, I'm crazy. Crazy like a fox."

"That makes no sense." Rory folded her arms.

"You're right." Lorelai concluded, "Secondly, I've decided I've been going about this coffee thing all wrong. Instead of moaning and wanting to die, I've decided to be positive…" Lorelai pointed to a glass of orange juice. "The glass is half full, am I right?"

Rory stared at her mother.

"Strike two," Lorelai muttered, "And, in the words of Bono, 'It's a beautiful day'. So today, I have the day off work and I'm going to spend it doing something that doesn't require me thinking about coffee."

"Sounds good," Rory nodded "elaborate please."

"Well," Lorelai began, "you know how we have heaps and heaps of photos just sitting in boxes – you know, the ones too special to chuck in albums, but not special enough for frames?"

"Ah, yes," Rory nodded once again "the in-betweenies."

"I was going to make a scrapbook of us," Lorelai explained excitedly, "and call it…'The Sisterhood of the Travelling Rants!"

"Extremely corny," Rory though aloud, "but I like it!"

"Knew you would, darl," Lorelai grinned, "want some breakfast?"

"If it's alright with you, I think I'll go back to bed for another hour." Rory stood up, leaving the room.

"Remember: it's a beautiful day!" Lorelai called out.

"I can't wait until this day is over." Rory muttered.

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Lorelai reached into the back of her closet, searching frantically. Somewhere in the darkness lay a huge box filled with photos and scrap booking supplies.

"Ah ha!"

Lorelai dragged a huge box into the kitchen. Grabbing a scrapbook, some decorated paper, glue andscissors, she was ready to begin.

"All I need now is some photos."

Lorelai glanced through various trips, town festivals and inn events, sorting as she went. She paused at one taken from their trip to Harvard. Both of them looked so happy. And both were holding cups of coffee.

_Ring, Ring!_

"Hello?"

_Hi Lorelai, it's Luke._

"Luke." Lorelai smiled to herself, "What can I do for you?"

_Just checking up on you, to see how you're doing. So…_

There was a pause.

_How you doing?_

"If you're calling to see whether I'd given into temptation, the answer is no."

_Oh?_

"In fact, I'm doing really well. I got up at 6 am and make breakfast."

_Wow. Congratulations._

"Now if you don't mind, I've got other, non-coffee related activities to attend to."

_See you, then._

Lorelai hung up the phone, frustrated. Very distracted and suddenly craving coffee, Lorelai began to assemble her scrapbook. Piece by piece.

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"Wow." Rory stated, flipping through the scrapbook.

"I know," Lorelai buried her head in her hands.

" I never realised we drank so much coffee," Rory pondered.

"I know."

"Everywhere," Rory said, amazed "on holidays, at festivals, practically everywhere."

What lay before the two was a completed scrapbook. In every shot, at least one of them was holding a cup of coffee.

"There's even a couple of pictures of just a cup of coffee," Rory stated "why on earth would we take a picture of a cup of coffee?"

"I don't know," Lorelai sighed, "Sweetie, I think I have a problem – I think I'm a…coffee-aholic."

"The first step is admitting it," Rory patted her mother on the shoulder.

"What should I do?"

"Well," Rory thought for a minute, "every Thursday these a support group meeting for people with addictions and phobias held in the Town Hall. Maybe you could go to that."

"And if it doesn't work?" Lorelai asked.

"I guess we could organise a lobotomy," Rory suggested.

"I'll go to the support group, then," Lorelai gave in.

Rory closed the coffee scrapbook.

"That a girl!"

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	4. Thursday: Seeking Assistance

**THURSDAY: Seeking Assistance**

**A/N: Wow, I think this may be the fastest I've updated this story, 2 chapters in 3 days. Thank goodness for holidays. Here's the long awaited (ha!) town meeting chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

**NOTE: A lot of you said you wanted some LL, so consider you wish granted. Look out for LL in later chapters :P

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Lorelai paced outside of Miss Patty's dance studio. It was 7:10, ten minutes after the start of the meeting.

"Ugh, I can't do this," Lorelai muttered.

In her head, Lorelai was drawing up a pro/con list.

PRO: She would win the bet.

CON: Luke would ridicule her for the rest of her existence.

PRO: She would prove to herself and Luke she could go a week without coffee.

CON: Luke would ridicule her for the rest of her existence.

PRO: The money would compensate for the ridicule.

CON: Either way, she would end up losing. So it came down to two options.

The money or her pride.

Lorelai was going to take the money.

She slid open the heavy, wooden door and stepped inside. She gasped at what she saw.

"Lorelai! What a pleasant surprise!"

Lorelai stared, frozen in shock at half the town sitting in Miss Patty's dance studio, with Taylor leading the congregation.

"Lorelai, honey, don't just stand there, grab a seat!" Miss Patty beckoned Lorelai forward. Still in shock, Lorelai sat in the nearest empty chair.

"Now," Taylor began, "Let's give a warm welcome to our newest member, Lorelai Gilmore."

Everyone burst into enthusiastic applause.

"On behalf of the group," Taylor said, looking around "I'd just like to thank you for joining us and we know you will be a supportive member of our little group. We're all here to express our phobias and addictions in a non-judgemental environment. Everything that is said never leaves this room. The important thing to remember is that everyone has problems, but it's the crazy ones that don't talk about them. Am I right?"

Everyone in the room started laughing. Lorelai smiled politely. _What the hell…_

"Now, I believe we were up to Gypsy," Taylor stated, "Go ahead, dear."

"Hi everyone," Gypsy began, "my name is Gypsy, and I think I'm afraid of flutes."

"Hi Gypsy!" Everyone said unanimously.

Lorelai stifled a smirk. Afraid of flutes, was she the only one that thought it was slightly weird?

"Go on, Gypsy," Taylor said sympathetically, flipping through a large book, "how do you feel around flutes?"

"Well," Gypsy thought, "every time I see one, I have to leave the room. The idea of one being played make me very anxious and whenever one is played, it sends shivers down my spine and I feel as though I want to snap it!"

Everyone murmured in thought.

"Does a piccolo have the same affect?" Babette asked.

"Flute are your friend, man," Morey said.

"Strangely enough, I don't have the same reaction to the piccolo," Gypsy mused.

"Aha!" Taylor cried, "You have Aulophobia – fear of flutes!"

"Hold on a minute," Lorelai interrupted. The room went silent. "Could it be possible that instead of fearing flutes, Gypsy may just hate them? Think about it, most of her symptoms are extremely aggressive."

There was a quiet mummer of agreement.

"You know, Lorelai, I think you're right!" Taylor announced, "Gypsy, you aren't afraid of flutes, you just hate them!"

"That's a relief!" Gypsy sighed.

_Oh my God, _Lorelai thought _why is everyone in the town so crazy?_

"Hi my name's Kirk," Kirk stood up "and I have Mottephobia."

"Hi Kirk."

"Hang on a minute," Lorelai interrupted "Sorry, but what is 'mottephobia'?"

"Fear of moths," Kirk explained "I've had it since I was 8. My mother took me and my 11 brothers and sisters to the zoo. They had this moth cage where you could walk among thousands of living moths. It was late and my mother and my brothers and sisters left without me. Because I was so small, the guard didn't see me and locked me in. It wasn't until the next morning when they realised I was missing. They found me, curled up in my underwear, covered with moths. I still have nightmares about it."

Lorelai gave Babette a questioning look.

"The moths ate his clothes," she whispered.

"Oh," Lorelai nodded.

"Go on Kirk," Taylor said softly.

"I've had to live with this…disorder for most of my life. I try not to let it hold me back, but sometimes…" Kirk had tears in his eyes.

"Oh, Kirk, sweetie, go on," Miss Patty said sympathetically.

"I saw a moth the other day…and I cried."

There was a chorus of 'ohs' and 'you poor thing'.

"Did you say your mantra?" Taylor asked.

Kirk nodded.

"When I got home." He took a deep breath. "'They're more scared of me, than I am of them.' An hour later, I was able to crawl out from under my bed."

Everyone clapped loudly.

"You see people," Taylor said loudly, "mantras do work! Lorelai, it's your turn."

Lorelai cleared her throat.

"Hi, my name is Lorelai and I'm a coffee-aholic."

"Hi Lorelai!" Everyone said.

"It's been three days since my last cup of coffee," Lorelai explained, "72 long and difficult hours. I thought it would be easy, you know, giving up coffee. It took a stupid be to realise how much I rely on it."

"A bet?" Miss Patty questioned.

"I made a bet with Luke that I could give up coffee for a week." Lorelai hung her head in shame.

There was a chorus of 'oohs'.

"Lorelai, I want to tell you a story my father told me," Taylor began, "Once there was a little steam engine, who was faced with a seemingly impossible task – much like yourself, Lorelai."

"How am I like a steam engine?" Lorelai questioned.

"He had to climb up a hill with a very heavy carriage and because it was so heavy, it seemed impossible," Taylor ignored Lorelai, "but that little engine never stopped believing in himself. Instead of saying, 'I think I can' he looked deep inside his heart and said 'I know I can!' With that in mind, he climbed over that hill, proving to himself that he could do it."

Everyone clapped.

"So, Lorelai," Taylor stared her straight in the eye, "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking 'what do I have in common with the little steam engine?'"

"Actually, I –" Lorelai began, but was interrupted.

"You both were faced with an impossible tasks and by looking deep inside your heart, you can find the courage to achieve you goal. So repeat after me – 'I know I can!'"

"I know I can," Lorelai said stupidly.

"Like you mean it, Lorelai," Taylor coaxed.

Lorelai stood up.

"I know I can!"

"When your mind tells you that you can't – you'll say…"

"I KNOW I CAN!"

Everyone applauded her.

"Thanks, guys! When I win my $100 from Luke, I'm going to buy you all a drink!"

"Hooray!" Everyone cheered.

Lorelai walked home, feeling much more confident about the task that lay ahead.

_I know I can!_

Lorelai paused at the sight of the flashing answering machine. She pressed play.

_Hey, Lorelai, it's Luke. Just seeing how you're doing, but I guess you're out doing 'non-coffee related things'-_

Lorelai pressed delete. How could he? Who did he think he was? What gave him the right…? She collapsed on the couch, angry and exhausted.

There was only one thing that could make her feel better.

And it was the one thing she couldn't have.

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**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that. I know I did.**

**Please review. Your reviews make a teenage girl smile XD**


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